Welcome to Tanzania! Upon your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), our representative will greet you and provide a comfortable transfer to your hotel in Arusha. Take the rest of the day to relax and prepare for your safari. In the evening, your expert guide will meet you for a pre-safari briefing.
After breakfast, we begin our safari adventure, driving to Tarangire National Park. Tarangire is renowned for its vast elephant herds, making it the perfect place to start our Big 5 search. We will enjoy a game drive through a landscape of ancient baobab trees and rolling hills. Afterwards, we continue our scenic journey up into the lush Ngorongoro highlands, arriving at your lodge in Karatu for the evening.
An early start is essential for today's main event: the Ngorongoro Crater. We descend 600 meters to the floor of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, a self-contained ecosystem teeming with wildlife. This is your best opportunity to spot the critically endangered black rhino. The crater is also home to dense populations of lions, hyenas, elephants, and buffalo. After an incredible game drive and a picnic lunch, we will ascend the crater wall and drive into the vast, iconic plains of the Serengeti National Park.
A full day is dedicated to exploring the legendary Serengeti. Your guide will take you to the best locations for wildlife viewing, focusing on the Seronera Valley, often called the "big cat capital" of Africa. This is prime territory for spotting lions lounging on kopjes (rocky outcrops), leopards resting in acacia trees, and large herds of buffalo grazing on the plains. Enjoy the thrill of tracking these incredible animals in one of the world's greatest wildlife sanctuaries.
Enjoy one last morning game drive in the Serengeti, offering a final chance to witness the park's predators in action during the cool morning hours. After soaking in the last of the Serengeti's magic, we begin our journey back towards the Ngorongoro highlands, arriving at your familiar lodge in Karatu in the late afternoon for a well-deserved rest.
After breakfast, we drive to Lake Manyara National Park for a final, short game drive. This beautiful park is known for its stunning scenery, prolific birdlife, and its famous, though elusive, tree-climbing lions. Afterwards, we will proceed to Arusha for a farewell lunch before transferring you to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) for your flight home.